Challenge Rules

Tuesday, 29 September 2015

As we bring you this issue at the beginning of October, it also doubles up as our Halloween issue! We have lots of suitably spooky projects to inspire you this month, as well as plenty of amazing non-ghoulish art for those who prefer not to be scared when crafting! Order your copy from our online SHOP or download your instant copy from POCKETMAGS!

Our 3D challenge this month is part of the spooky theme and our designers have really outdone themselves this time! The sheer level of variation you can get from the same substrates is amazing, from the wonderfully quirkyness of Clare Lloyd's vibrant green creation to the downright, spine chilling horror of the amazing art by Lesley Walters! There's truly something for everyone!

We also have more ‘new to Craft Stamper’ designers to introduce you to this month! We take a look at the work of some inspirational international artists, including the sweet owl canvas by Mona Pendleton from the USA and the wonderfully Autumnal project created by the talented Giovanna Zara from Australia!

I’m sure you won’t have missed the truly stunning cover art by Ana Kavcic too! Everyone in the office was simply stunned by this...beautiful work Ana!

We also are welcoming back Louise Crosbie in this issue. Queen of all things altered, Louise has outdone herself with the most amazing apothecary assemblage. No matter how many times you stare at this you will still find intricate new details that you missed first, second or even third time around!

We have a very special feature to share this month with you all. The entire crafting community was in a state of shock when we learned of the untimely death of Lily Chilvers. Just 21, Lily was such an amazing, talented and beautiful person, inside and out, and so we have created a tribute to Lily and her stunning Octopode Factory images.

There are also some very useful tutorials for you to have a go at in this issue! Sizzix Ink sheets, Mica, foil and how to colour a bunny, to name a few! We hope you enjoy our November issue! And don't forget to share your makes inspired by any of our issues with us via our Twitter @CraftStamperMag or Facebook page!

Congratulations Amanda! We loved the myriad of details in this piece, so much texture! Amanda will
win a Guest Designer slot, a Winners Profile and of course her gorgeous project will be published in Craft Stamper Magazine.

As always, we have the remaining two slots in our Design Top Three to reveal! This month however, we have a tie in the voting so we actually have a top 4! They are in no particular order :)

Tuesday, 22 September 2015

We
are looking for submissions for our Ready, Set, Stamp feature on the
following theme for our February issue of Craft Stamper. If you've always
wanted to see YOUR card in print, now is your chance!!

Colours: Violet, Fuchsia, Steel Blue,Silver/Gray

****Please do NOT create Christmas cards for this art call! ****

Deadline for submission: 20th October 2015

· Please email your submissions to cs@traplet.com

· Please put 'Ready Set Stamp' followed by the theme in the subject line

· Please note that due to the number of submissions it's not possible to
contact every entrant individually - if you have not heard from us within one
week, your submission has not been successful. Please try again with a different card!

Guidelines:

· Please make cards only for this gallery.. Please do not use stamps that are discontinued for this article. Also please only use stamps that are available to buy in the UK (the exception is stamps from advertisers e.g. Art Journey, De Stempelwinkel)..
We do not accept cards created with digital stamps ONLY for this
feature. Digital stamps MUST be used in conjunction with real stamping
to qualify.

· Cards which are selected need to be posted to the Craft Stamper
offices in the UK.

· This call IS open internationally.

· Note that we do choose artwork as it arrives, so please don't wait
until the last minute to submit if your cards are ready.

· Cards will be returned at our expense, along with a complimentary copy
of the magazine in which your card features. Note this can take approx. three
months.

· Please follow both the theme AND the colour scheme
when creating your
cards. You can add black, white and metallics to any of the schemes. The
ideas given are simply that, ideas, and do not have to be followed to
the letter!

· Text for this article is required (don't worry - it is short!) and
should be entered into the document provided – this will be sent to you if you
are selected.

Kim won the challenge with this beautiful card. We thought the balloons were fabulous, so bright and vibrant! We
loved it!

We asked Kim a few questions all about stamping (well, we are Craft Stamper after all!)

Q: How long have you
been a stamper, and how did you get started?

A: I’ve been stamping
for just over 15 years. I was first
introduced to stamping by a friend in University. I have always been drawn to arts and crafts which is why I was
majoring in Fine Arts. When my friend
showed me her cards and how she made them I was instantly hooked!

Q: What are your
favourite kinds of stamps, and do you have a favourite stamp company?

A:In terms of actual
stamp material I love the clear photopolymer stamps best. I like being able to see where I’m stamping
and they are usually less expensive.
But when talking about actual images, I love sketchy, artsy stamps. I’m attracted to all kinds of different
images, whether it’s floral or cute animals, grunge or clean graphics. As for a favourite stamp company, there’s no
way I could just pick one! So, I’ll
name a few of my top favs instead.
STAMPlorations, Hero Arts, Clearly Besotted and Penny Black.

Q: Describe your style,
are you a messy kind of stamper or a more ‘clean and simple’ kind of person?

A: It took me quite a
while to discover what my style was. I
would say that I’ve only had a style for about 3 years. Before, I was all over the place. Now, I’m definitely clean and simple
(although the state of my craft area would disagree! LOL). However, I like to
challenge myself and I’ll often try something new just for fun. When I deviate from the CAS style I often
like to play around with what I like to call collage stamping. This is just a layering of stamp images, sponging
and/or splattering.

Q:What kind of projects do you like creating the most?

A: While I have made 3
dimensional crafts (ie: jewellery box, shelf) using stamps and have dabbled in
scrapbooking, my true passion is for creating cards. I haven’t given anyone a store-bought card for over 10
years! My all time favourite cards to
make are Christmas cards and I’m one of those crazy people that make them all
year round.

Q: Apart from stamps,
what is the one product you wouldn’t be without when you craft?

A: That’s a tough
one. I could say my Fiskars rotary
paper cutter because really it’s been invaluable and has lasted for years but
more recently I would have to say it’s the Tim Holtz Distress inks. I have really only started using them in the
past year or so and I’m slowly getting a nice collection of colours. These inks are amazing! You can simply stamp with them, or spray
water on them to get cool blending effects, or use them like watercolours. I just love them!

We
also asked Kim to show us a couple of her favourite stamped creations,
and share why she likes them so much. Here are the gorgeous projects she has
chosen:

"I think that this
card really epitomizes my CAS style. It
is simple yet effective. I love to add
little bits of embellishments that can make a card special. It was quite well received too and, to date,
it’s the most visited post on my blog" - Kim

"This is a good
example of what I mean by collage stamping.
It was one of the first times I dabbled in this style and I loved how it
turned out. There are layers of, at least,
four stamps, sponging, splatters and coloring" - Kim

Congratulations on being our August Design Winner Kim , and it was lovely to learn a little more about you!

Do YOU fancy having a winners profile all about you on the CS blog?

The
profile is part of the prize package for each Design Winner of our
challenges. All you need to do is enter a creation into the challenge,
then if you are voted Design Winner everyone will be reading all about
you before you know it!

Our current challenge 'Take A Stamp" is still open for a little while! All the details can be found HERE.

This months randomly chosen entry will win this fabulous stamp plate, and both stencils:

How wonderful is that?!

***ALSO***

As
a very special offer for Craft Stamper blog readers, Shery has created a
coupon code just for us.... a coupon that will entitle the user to FREE
international shipping on any order over $20 (which works out to around
£12.90)!

The
code to enter is: CSTAKEITMAKEIT , and is good throughout the whole
month of September (and you can use it with other STAMPlorations coupons
too)

THANK YOU Shery, we appreciate your generosity!

The
Design Winner, voted for by our DT, will have their project
published in a 2 page spread in Craft Stamper Magazine, will have a guest DT slot for an upcoming challenge, and ALSO
gets their very own winners profile here on the blog....so why
not get your stamps out and share your creation?

Friday, 4 September 2015

As
you might remember, this year our challenge is alternating between
'Take A Stamp', and 'Take A Technique'....and this month our challenge
is 'Take A Stamp'!So that means..

September Challenge:

'Take A Stamp' Anything Goes(as long as you have used a stamp somewhere!)

Show
us how unique you can be, create anything your imagination cares to dream up! Share your
cards, journal pages, layouts, 3D assemblage or whatever else takes your
fancy. Your project can be any theme, any colour you want... as long as
you've stamped somewhere, then you're good to go!

We
have two prizes on offer this month, the first is our sponsor
prize. This winner will be chosen randomly from all of the entries in the
challenge! The sponsor for September is

STAMPlorations create and stock the most fabulous selection of stamps and stencils, soooo
many to choose from, and such wonderful quality. A nice long browse through the selection on offer is thoroughly recommended!

The prize this month is this wonderful stamp plate:

And also these two great stencils:

How
cool are those stamps and stencils? So very very useful for all manner of projects!
? Our randomly drawn winner will be one lucky person!

***ALSO***

As a very special offer for Craft Stamper blog readers, Shery has created a coupon code just for us.... a coupon that will entitle the user to FREE international shipping on any order over $20 (which works out to around £12.90)!

The code to enter is: CSTAKEITMAKEIT , and is good throughout the whole month of September (and you can use it with other STAMPlorations coupons too)

THANK YOU Shery, we appreciate your generosity!

Our
second winner is our Design Winner. This winner is chosen by our DT,
who all vote for their favourite design from all of the entries. This
winner will have their winning project published in Craft Stamper
Magazine, (with a 2 page spread of their very own!), they will have a GDT slot for an upcoming challenge, and will
also feature in their very own Winners Profile blog post!

I
hope the prizes have given you all an incentive to win...... and how
about some eye candy from the DT to give you some beautifully stamped inspiration!

I have to say...there are some STUNNERS there, that's what I call inspiration!

Want to enter?!

Then simply link up using the
Linky Tool below! PLEASE
PLEASE PLEASE have a read of our challenge rules before you link up.
Any entry that does not comply with all the rules will not be considered
for either of the two prizes on offer. All rules can be found by
clicking the link at the top of the page, under the banner!